


Genesis of an Intransigent Bond

by bravelittletoreador



Category: Homestuck
Genre: M/M, Unfinished, and unlikely to ever be finished
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-24
Updated: 2019-01-24
Packaged: 2019-10-15 15:38:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17531486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bravelittletoreador/pseuds/bravelittletoreador
Summary: GENESIS OF AN INTRANSIGENT BONDorRufioh and Horuss's first meeting and how they came to be friends (and eventually more)An unfinished draft for a fanzine piece that I abandoned because I realized it was going to be way too long. Someone wanted to see it anyway, so here it is!





	Genesis of an Intransigent Bond

It was second spring of the dim season when the diffuse light of the double moons was at its brightest and every leaping crawling flying thing rushed madly about in the industrious fervor of life. Every plant burst into flower, every tree stretched towards the light. Buzzbugs, heavy with pollen, bumbled through the leaves with a low peaceful droning. Fluttercritters of all shapes and colors flitted through the branches, singing loudly. At the river’s edge croakbeasts sang high trilling love songs and a slitherfiend rippled across the water’s surface like a wind blown ribbon and vanished into a rock’s cool shadow. 

Rufioh watched the pageantry of life from the high branch of a twisted pine and tried to breathe in that vigorous energy, that vibrant confidence. His branch looked down on a wide meadow, silver with wind rippled grass, star studded by wild flowers. In the tree near him an empty nest sat, from which he’d watched a fledgling fluttercritter dive and take its first faltering wing beats into the air. His own wings twitched against his back at the memory. He stretched out the gauzy bronze membranes to catch the moonlight, unfurling like flags. They trembled as he extended them to their limit. They were already half a foot taller than him, probably twice his arm span, and still growing. 

He took a deep breath, straightened up, and walked carefully towards the end of the branch, as far as he thought it could bear his weight. 

“Happy thoughts,” he whispered to himself. “Faith, trust, pixie dust. You can do this. Confidence. Confidence.”

He bent his knees, and launched himself out of the tree. 

The wind caught under his wings like great kites and his heart soared as for a moment he felt genuine lift. He was flying! He was doing it!

It was then he saw the glint of moonlight on glass. 

He turned his head and realized he was not, as he’d assumed, alone in this meadow. 

A blue blood with a tripod and a bemused frown was standing in the waste high grass, watching him.

All at once, the wind vanished from under his wings. He plummeted to the ground with a shout and was rewarded by a big mouthful of dirt. Rufioh simply lay there for a moment, soaking in his shame. He remembered the blue blood as he heard heavy footsteps hurrying towards him.

"You, lowblood!" a deep voice called. "Have you died?"

"No!" Rufioh shouted back at once, then cursed, wishing he hadn't. Maybe if he'd pretended to be dead the highblood would have left him alone. He crawled quickly away, hoping the tall grass would hide him, towards where he'd left his coat beneath the tree.

"Injured then," the blue blood assumed.

"No, no, I'm fine!" Rufioh insisted as he scrambled to put his coat on. Most clothing couldn't have hoped to hide the enormous wings, but this one was based on the coats worn by the villains in Rufioh's favorite east Alternian cartoon. Solid black save for a few tasteful bright red clouds, it's high collar and low hem covered him practically from wrist to ankle. The effect was, he thought, very cool, if unbearably hot and stuffy on warm days like this one.

He heard the blue blood's footsteps getting closer and jumped quickly to his feet, straightening the coat.

"See?" he said, breathless. "I am absolutely fine! I really appreciate your worry though."

He smiled at the stranger, crossing his fingers under his big coat that it would be enough to make the high blood go away.

The stranger was a bit short for a blue blood, and close to Rufioh's age. He held himself with the practiced elegance of an aristocrat, his long black pony tail glossy with health. Heavy brass goggles obscured his eyes, making the heavy frown beneath them seem all the more severe.

"Why have you put on that... incredibly unfortunate coat?" the blue blood asked. "I insist you remove it immediately."

"Ah, I would," Rufioh said with a laugh, looking for a way out. "But you see, uh, I can't, because I might catch a cold."

The stranger stared at Rufioh as the balmy evening settled heavy and humid around them. A bead of sweat rolled down the blue blood's forehead.

"Delicate lowblood constitution," Rufioh continued. "You understand. Can't take any chances."

The blue blood simply continued to stare at him for an unsettlingly long moment. Finally, he cleared his throat and planted his tripod beside him.

"I will have to insist you remove it anyway," he said. "I will see to any potential medical care you require. Hurry, we are losing the light."

He was already removing a camera from one of his saddlebags, setting it up on the tripod and preparing the film with incredible delicacy, as though concerned he might crush it with a single wrong gesture. Rufioh took a deep breath, still not sure just how much trouble he was in.

"I'm... not going to do that," he said with a small laugh, trying to lighten the mood. "Why do you want me to take it off so bad anyway? Are you, uh, worried about that thing that attacked me? That weird flying orange thing that totally knocked me out of the tree? Because that's gone and I'm definitely fine."

"Don't be absurd," the highblood replied. "I wish to photograph your hideous and unlawful mutation."

"M-mutation?" Rufioh forced a laugh. He was in so much more trouble than he'd hoped. "I don't have any-"

"I saw them," the highblood interrupted. "Before you even leapt from the tree."

"I didn't- That wasn't-"

"They are quite stunning, for an obviously illegal malformation of nature," the highblood said, talking over him as he adjusted his large and complicated camera. It looked fashionably antique, all brass and leather, but Rufioh had no doubt it took photos as crisp as any high end imagesnapper. "Like the winged muscle beasts of antiquity, straining valiantly against the sky! Were they not a grotesque deviation I might even admire them, but as it stands I am honor bound to record them for posterity. Now take off your coat and we will begin."

Rufioh didn't know how to respond to that, but luckily he didn't have to as Damara popped out from behind a tree and hit the highblood over the head with a black jack.

"Ow," said the highblood, not at all knocked out the way Damara had clearly hoped he would be.

Damara, thinking fast, hit him a second time, much harder. And then, when that still did nothing but make the highblood frown more, she hit him a third time, maybe not as hard, but with a lot of hope, maybe? And as Rufioh had learned from his east Alternian cartoons, hope and faith were very important. The highblood obligingly went down, though Rufioh thought he might have been faking it as a way to end the increasingly awkward situation.

Never one to waste a charitable gesture, Damara quickly tied the highblood up.

“[何してるの?](https://puu.sh/Ave7t/d5bcdcd799.gif)” she asked, her face wrought with concern. “[あなたは一人ではいけません！彼は無人機"を呼ぶことができた！”](https://puu.sh/Ave5Y/502c6c199d.gif)

“I’m fine!” Rufioh said quickly, cheeks turning copper. “I was just practicing my flying. I could have handled him.”

“[たわごと だ。](https://puu.sh/AvefQ/b1f29936af.gif)” she said flatly.

Rufioh faked a grin, hands on his hips. The first step to being confident was acting confident, even if you didn’t really believe it.

“Come on, doll! I’ve handled worse than him! Remember that time we escaped from those roustabouts?”

“[あなたはバナナの皮の上を滑った。あなたは自分をノックアウトしました。彼らはたくさん笑って、私たちは逃げることができました。](https://puu.sh/Ave7s/58b639df2d.gif)”

Rufioh winced.

“I mean, there was a little more to it than just that… Uh, anyway, what do we do now?”

“[あなたは主人公です. あなたが決める.](https://puu.sh/AvekW/438cb2a9a4.gif)” Damara said with a shrug.

“Yeah, right, of course. I totally know what we should do.” Rufioh tried to laugh in an extra confident way, but he was afraid it sounded mostly nervous. “Thanks for always trusting in my confident leadership even in completely impossible situations like this!”

 

“Why would you bring him back to our hideout?!”

The Lost Weeaboos gathered around as Damara and Rufioh hauled the highblood, who was no longer pretending to be unconscious, up into their tree fort. The Lost Weeaboo’s hideout sprawled through the branches of a copse of old oaks. The main fort, where they gathered to watch troll anime, was a cluttered little cabin papered with posters and east alternian wall scrolls, crammed with sofas and beanbags mostly scavenged off the curbs of more affluent trolls. Currently, Donask was standing on of those sofas to make himself look taller (something he did often), his psionics sparking around his ears.

“Now he knows where we all live!” the gold blood said loudly. “He could call the drones on all of us!”

“He ain’t gonna call the drones.” Nohnap, a rust with a passion for his masculine take on deco loli fashion, sprawled on the same couch Donask was standing on. “We obviously ain’t gonna let him go.”

“Well then what are we going to do with him?” Donask demanded.

“Kill him, probably, right?” Thubut, a large rust with the most comprehensive knowledge of Shojo manga Rufioh had ever encountered. “I mean, we can’t let him leave, right?”

“[もちろん私たちは彼を殺します](https://puu.sh/Avhvi/0ad51e1339.gif),” Damara said with a smile. “  
[私のために武器「STRONG」を十分に探してください。彼の非常に厚い頭蓋骨を崩壊させる.”](https://puu.sh/Avhvs/9243ab60c7.gif)

“What did she say?” Donask asked Rufioh, frowning. Rufioh was the only one who could speak east Alternian fluently. Thubut could read it and Nohnap could pick out a few words when watching anime with subs. Donask was a hardcore dubs loyalist.

“Uh.” Rufioh glanced at Damara, and then at the still unresisting highblood, not sure he wanted to answer that question.

“Obviously we’re going to eat him,” Laxboi chimed in, popping up from the ‘game hole,’ the blanket fort he’d built around his gaming husktop for privacy while he played his visual novel dating sims.

 That set off a storm of cross talk, mostly about who was claiming what body part. The noise woke up Pokets and the twins, dozing in the hammock against the wall. The twins just squinted at everything in cross confusion and returned to sleep. They’d been up all day on a horror anime binge. Pokets just liked pile naps. The tiny rust was the youngest of the lost weeaboos. He’d been barely out of his first cocoon when he’d joined them.

The wriggler toddled curiously over to the highblood, tilting his head as he looked the stranger up and down. Rufioh watched, a bit concerned, as Pokets put his tiny hands on the highblood’s face, pushing and stretching his skin slowly like he was trying to find a face he recognized.

“There you are,” the wriggler said at last with a dazzling smile, then stepped back, looked at his now rather sweaty hands, and frowned. “Gross.”

“Guys, we’re not going to kill him!” Rufioh interrupted, the ongoing argument about how best to prepare roast highblood. “Heroes don’t eat people!”

“Well then, what are we doing with him?” Nohnap asked. The others looked to Rufioh expectantly. Rufioh glanced at Damara, who just gave him an encouraging smile.

“He’s a blue blood,” Rufioh pointed out. “If he disappears, there’ll be trouble. We don’t want someone to come looking for him and find us chewing on his thoracic struts do we?”

There were mutters of reluctant agreement.

“But it’s alright!” Rufioh said, his mind working quickly to try and think of a way to keep them from cannibalizing this troll. “Because I have a plan.”

“[あなたがやる？](https://puu.sh/AvjNP/d284e772bc.gif)” Damara tilted her head curiously.

“We’re going to, uh, we’re going to use this guy to our advantage,” Rufioh said, still scrambling for a plan. “He’s a highblood, so he’s strong, and he can do all kinds of things we can’t-”

“Like the vault!” Thubut said, sitting up straighter, suddenly excited. “You’re talking about the vault!”

“Exactly!” Rufioh said, excited, as Thubut handed him the perfect idea. “We’ll take him to the vault!”

“[それはうまくいくかも...](https://puu.sh/AvjNL/a2287e1414.gif)” Damara said thoughtfully.

“Excuse me.”

Rufioh looked down at the still tied up highblood who was kneeling between him and Damara. So far he’d been deceptively calm and cooperative.

“What is the vault?” the highblood asked.

“It’s awesome, is what it is!” Donask declared, psionics fizzling.

“It’s our heritage, right?” Thubut added.

“It’s an old Empire cache,” Nohnap explained. “Probably a hundred sweeps old. They were using it to store historical artifacts related to notable lowbloods of the past.”

“To hide them, you mean,” Donask said bitterly. “So that everybody forgets they were ever alive, doing incredible things all on their own without any highbloods holding their hands.”

“Anyway, the empire lost it,” Nohnap went on, correcting himself when Donask scoffed. “I mean, ‘lost’ it. It’s still out there in the jungle, but the empire doesn’t have any record of it or do anything to maintain it. It’s just waiting for someone to crack it open and return all these treasures to the public!”

“Except it’s got a big ass rock in front of the door,” Donask said.

“[言語！子供の前に呪いの言葉を言ってはいけません！](https://puu.sh/Ave7D/ebfc1495b4.gif)” Damara scolded, pointing at Pokets.

“Sorry,” Donask ducked, sparks dancing over his head. “I mean, there’s a big stone seal over the entrance. None of us are strong enough to move it.”

“But HE is!” Laxboy said excitedly.

“Yeah!” Rufioh agreed. “And he could probably deactivate any security systems in the vault too! He’s exactly what we needed!”

“I can’t believe we’re finally going to crack the vault!” Donask punched the air in excitement, and started a small fire with his sparks with Thubut quickly stomped out. They were all quite used to Donask’s excitable psionics.

“[私たちは終わったときに何が起こるでしょうか？](https://puu.sh/Ave6m/2c24863501.gif)” Damara asked. “[私は彼を殺すことはできますか？](https://puu.sh/Ave6S/276c623da3.gif)”

“What did she say?” Donask asked.

“I think she asked if we’ll kill him after,” Nohnap translated.

“I would also be interested in hearing that,” the highblood added.

“No, of course not!” Rufioh said quickly. “Because, uh, because….”

Rufioh licked his lips, scrambling for a reason, his eyes flicking to the episode of troll One Piece playing on the television.

“Because we’ll obviously have befriended him by then!” Rufioh finished. “Once we’ve gone on an adventure like that together, he’ll like us too much to reveal us! We’ll be able to just let him go.”

“[一体？](https://puu.sh/Avnje/2b82f813cb.gif)”

“Yeah, really!” Rufioh insisted. “I’m totally confident that we can show this guy just how cool and independent and totally not in need of culling we are. Or, you know, we can just have him watch Angel Beats with Thubut. If he isn’t crying and desperate for friendship after that he isn’t a troll.”

“I don’t know…”  Nohnap said, biting his lip. Judging by the fizzle of Donask’s psionics he was nervous too.

Rufioh could feel their confidence in him dropping, and with it his confidence in himself. Damara nudged him, pushing him to say something, but he froze, the words not coming. Damara sighed impatiently.

“[私たちは彼をこの冒険に連れて行きます。](https://puu.sh/AvnVx/e93ebad12c.gif)” Damara said. “[もし彼が最後にまだ悪いなら、私たちは彼を食べるでしょう。](https://puu.sh/AvnVx/e93ebad12c.gif)”

“Right,” Rufioh stammered a little, clearing his throat and trying to pull himself together. “If we get back from the vault and you guys still think he’s dangerous we’ll think of a new plan then. But in the meantime, I really think this could work. What about you, new friend?”

Rufioh trained his most charming smile on the highblood. The highblood looked back at him, expression unreadable behind his goggles.

“I think that I could break this bridle, by which I mean these flimsy and clumsily applied restraints, at any time,” he said. “And the fact that you think it is a good idea to mount a dangerous expedition to an abandoned government foal-cility while relying on nothing but my potential friendship to protect you, is but one item in the orgy of evidence here that you canter not be trusted with your own health and safety. I think I have no choice but to accompany you, only because you will almost certainly die if I don’t, or else attempt to hoof it and out run the coming drones and die somewhere else, depriving me of the opportunity to photograph your astounding and grotesque mutation for posterity. I think the moment we return from this vault, you will release me (as though I hoof not simply been going along with this out of the goodness of my pusher and the philanthropic platonic pity society demands I extend to your caste) , confident that your friendship has somehow deluded me into believing you do not require immediate medical care and round the clock guardianship, at which point I will go directly to the authorities, give them the location of this enclave of malnourished children, and petition for culling rights over you in particular, so that I neigh photograph you at my leisure. I think, if you value your freedom, you would be better advised to eat me- except you would probably choke to death, or undercook the meat and die of salmonella, because frankly, looking at this horrifying overcrowded shack, I am astounded you hoof managed to successfully feed yourselves for as long as you hoof.”

Rufioh was not certain he’d ever heard anyone say so many terrible things so quickly.

“[それでおしまい。私は彼を殺している。](https://puu.sh/Avosx/eff74ffaa5.gif)” Damara said, reaching for one of the katana hanging on the wall.

“Haha, he said orgy,” Thubut laughed.

Rufioh took a deep breath.

“More importantly, he said he’ll go with us!” Rufioh pointed out. “Right?”

The highblood responded with a weary little sigh.

“Yes, I suppose I did say that.”

“Then it’s agreed,” Rufioh said with a smile. "We'll leave for the vault immediately!"

"We, as in, all of us?" Nohnap asked.

"All of us are going to the incredibly dangerous vault in the incredibly dangerous jungle with the incredibly dangerous highblood?" Donask added.

"Uh, I kinda thought we'd all do it together, yeah?" Rufioh said, and his wings drooped under his coat. "Like, as a team, right guys? I know you guys are as jazzed to see what's in the vault as I am!"

"Oh, yeah," Donask said, nodding vigorously. "Totally! Except I'm kind of busy tonight? I've got a skype date with my matesprit in troll Canada."

"I'm allergic to the jungle," Thubut said with an expression of exaggerated regret. "I'd only slow you down."

"The new episode of Mew Mew Kissy Cutie is supposed to air tonight," Nohnap said. "I've gotta see it before the decency bureau blocks the signal for under-teals."

"I'm queuing for a raid," Laxboi shouted from the game hole.

"We just don't want to go," the twins said simultaneously without even opening their eyes.

"What about you Pokets?" Rufioh asked, kneeling to look at the smallest of the Lost Weeaboos. "You'll stick with me, right?"

Pokets reached into the tiny pocket of his coveralls and removed a tiny piece of candy, which he pressed into Rufioh's palm with his tiny, sticky hands.

"The futility of all efforts is measured in direct proportion to how desperately we long to challenge the inevitable," Pokets said solemnly. "As a moth throws itself at the sun, so are all our endeavors but eggs beneath the heel of an uncaring drone."

Rufioh pressed his lips together, brows knit in disappointment and confusion.

"Pokets, I don't know what that means."

Pokets nodded understandingly and patted Rufioh's hand.

"You're already in a hole," Pokets said. "Stop digging."

Rufioh sighed and straightened up, putting the slightly linty piece of candy in his mouth. It was as bitter as Poket's unvarnished wisdom.

Damara shook her head, strapped the katana she'd pulled off the wall onto her hip, and put a hand on Rufioh's shoulders.

"[心配しないでください。](../../Downloads/anime%20reaction%20gifs/you%20can%20do%20it!.gif)" she said with a reassuring smile. "[あなたの側に立ちますよ。一つとして、私たちはすべての敵を破壊するでしょう。](../../Downloads/anime%20reaction%20gifs/ready%20for%20battle.gif)"

"Thanks, doll," Rufioh said, his pumper squeezing a little in his chest. Rufioh was so grateful to have met her, let alone convinced her to be his kind of, sort of, matesprit.

With minimal goodbyes and a quick scramble to gather supplies, Rufioh and Damara set off, the other Lost Weeaboos cheering them on from the safety of the tree fort, with the captured highblood walking ahead of them.

As soon as they were out of eyesight of the treefort, Rufioh began untying Horuss.

"[何してるの？](../../Downloads/anime%20reaction%20gifs/SHOCK.gif)" Damara asked, startled.

"Untying him," Rufioh said with a shrug. "He said himself that he could break these easily. There's no real point in keeping him tied up."

"Additionally," the highblood pointed out. "I will be less able to help protect you in the way you will no doubt require if I am saddled with breaking these reigns first."

"Yeah, and that," Rufioh said with a small, nervous laugh.

Damara hummed uneasily but didn't argue with him. But she kept a very close eye on the highblood as they continued on.

"So what's your name?" Rufioh asked, deciding that was the best way to begin friendship bonding. Couldn't bond with someone if you didn't know their name!

"Horuss," the highblood replied.

"Nice to meet you," Rufioh said with his most charming smile. "I'm Rufioh. This is Damara."

"I wish I could say it has been a pleasure to meet you," Horuss replied. "But it does not be-hoof one of my caste to lie."

"Ah." Rufioh's smile faltered, but didn't fail. "I, uh, I suppose that's understandable, considering! I'm sorry about us knocking you out and tying you up and all. I'm sure you understand why we had to do that. But we can definitely still be friends! Damara clubbed me in the head when we first met, too! And we get along great now. Don't we, Dams?"

Damara smiled at him fondly.

"[その名前をもう一度私に電話してください。私はあなたの頭をもう一度打つだろう。](../../Downloads/anime%20reaction%20gifs/creepy%20smile.gif)" she said with a wink. "[あなたはそのような愛らしい[KO]顔を持っていることは幸運です](../../Downloads/anime%20reaction%20gifs/cuteslam.gif)"

Rufioh laughed, shaking his head, and Damara picked up her pace, slipping through the trees before them to scout ahead.

"Pardon my hoarse language," Horuss said. "But you can understand that guttural baloney?"

"Of course!" Rufioh said. "I learned it to watch troll anime without subtitles. You don't understand it? I thought highbloods were expected to learn all kinds of languages."

"My studies were focused on the extant languages of the former troll-European states, both pre-and post-breaking to the Empire's saddle," Horuss said stiffly. Rufioh couldn't tell much from the other troll's permanently slightly disgruntled expression, but he thought the guy might be a little offended. "Magnificent aristocratic societies with veritable herds of unparalleled artists, sculptors, and poets. I would never waste my valuable time on the peasant language of an impoverished backwater of the empire which produces nothing but cheap electronics and tawdry entertainment."

"Uh, wow." Rufioh cleared his throat and glanced in the direction Damara had gone, hoping she hadn't caught most of that. If she had, he would have a hard time stopping her from murdering the highblood. Rufioh wasn't the type to hit a prisoner, or to hit first at all. That wasn't heroic behavior. But even he kind of wanted to take a swing at this guy. Fortunately, Damara was scouting ahead and had missed most of that. "Um, your very STRONG opinions on other people's cultures aside, do all those dead languages actually come in handy, ever? Because it sure would be useful if you knew East Alternian right now, right?"

Horuss opened his mouth to reply, seemed to change his mind, and hummed a note of reluctant agreement.

"I suppose I canter deny that…"

 


End file.
